Child Trafficking, Girls, and Detention: A Call to Reform

Domestic child sex trafficking is among the most heinous abuses of children, but because of a lack of awareness and the hidden nature of this vulnerable population, survivors are often criminalized and placed behind bars when they are in fact victims of crime. Please join OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center, and the National Girls Institute for the Webinar, “Child Trafficking, Girls, and Detention: A Call to Reform,” on September 10, 2013, from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET. Presenters will share information about how in many states, victims of domestic child sex trafficking are being arrested and detained for juvenile prostitution and prostitution-related offenses; the victims’ need for trauma-informed, gender specific services instead of being subjected to conditions of confinement that exacerbate their trauma; and the largely hidden nature of this crime, which causes many victims to go unidentified and to fall through cracks in our juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The presenters will also discuss what juvenile justice facility staff can do to identify and assess for commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking within existing caseloads, so they can connect these youth with vital services and interventions.

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